The present application relates to a liquid lens apparatus using an electrowetting phenomenon, and to a manufacturing method of the same.
A liquid lens using an electrowetting phenomenon has been studied.
A liquid lens has a structure in which a liquid is contained in a lens container. Generally, a liquid lens is constituted of a plurality of members. A liquid lens device is envisioned to be mounted on a portable apparatus such as a camera and a mobile phone because of its low power consumption and reduced size and weight, and is disposed along with an electronic substrate and the like in many cases. That is, it is necessary for a liquid lens to be capable of completely sealing a liquid contained therein (in a long term).
For a liquid lens, various means for sealing a contained liquid have been proposed. For example, Japanese Patent Translation Publication No. 2007-519970 (paragraph 0052, FIG. 9) (hereinafter, referred to as Patent Document 1) discloses a varifocal lens package having a structure in which a plate-shaped lower lens member, a plate-shaped main body having a through hole, and a plate-shaped upper lens member are layered in the stated order, and a chamber for containing a liquid is partitioned by the through hole of the main body, the lower lens member, and the upper lens member.
The varifocal lens package includes a tightening unit for sandwiching and pressing the main body and the upper lens member by elasticity on an outer circumference of the main body and the upper lens member, and another tightening unit for sandwiching and pressing the main body and the lower lens member by elasticity on an outer circumference of the main body and the lower lens member. The two tightening units are alternately disposed so as not to interfere with each other in the outer circumference of the main body.
By those tightening units, the upper lens member is pressed against the main body and the lower lens member is pressed against the main body, that is, the upper lens member and the lower lens member are pressed against the main body.
Between the main body and the upper lens member and between the main body and the lower lens member, sealing rings made of rubber or the like are disposed, respectively. When the upper lens member and the lower lens member are pressed against the main body, the sealing rings are elastically deformed, thereby sealing a liquid.